Critical Call
by Fey Phantom
Summary: After a Nomu's identity is discovered, Katsuki and Izuku are called in to help piece together how a childhood friend of theirs caught the attention of the League of Villains. Only, the interview quickly turns into a fight for their lives. Warning: Manga Spoilers


**Notes:**

Merry holiday season everyone! I hope you enjoy this fic :D I wanted to capture the fun of canon and explore one of my favourite (non-romantic) relationships!

Special thanks to my beta Golden Lunar Eclipse!

Any words marked with * have additional notes at the end.

**-(X)-**

* * *

Katsuki wasn't worried. He _wasn't_, got it? Angry maybe. Not worried.

The night pounded with heavy rain outside. The similarity to those dismal nights depicted in horror stories wasn't lost on Katsuki. However, right now he was too preoccupied with marching forward, further into the belly of the hospital and away from the rush of rain on the ambulances in the parking lot.

"Hey! Hold up!" an extra shouted at him, giving chase after him at a speed befitting a hospital. Guess the medic couldn't bring himself to run inappropriately through the hallways of his workplace. Oh well, he can stay behind then. Either keep up or shut up.

"I haven't finished checking your injuries!" the man spluttered, flustered and speed walking next to Katsuki. Katsuki raised an eyebrow, impressed at the man's commitment to walking while fulfilling his duties.

"I'm fine! Didn't you already do enough checks on the way here?" Katsuki growled. He may have been impressed, didn't mean he cared to do the man any favours. There was somewhere else Katsuki needed to be. Right. Now.

"Sir, I may have bandaged your arm and patched your cheek, but you really should get some ice on your shoulder and we still don't know if you have a concussion. Not to mention protocol-"

"Look, I don't give a crap about protocol. If you want to keep me under observation, you can do it near surgery. I'm not sitting around here having you fuss over minor injuries while I don't know what the fuck's going on there!"

Katsuki continued to stomp his way past nurses and gurneys, a scowl on his face and an aura warning anyone who thought he didn't belong there to stay away. His legs carried him quickly into the surgical ICU until he suddenly halted right outside the doors leading into surgery. His body swayed a moment as if it wanted to continue but only here Katsuki wouldn't bring himself to go any further. He didn't want to interrupt anything crucial the nurses and doctors were doing to save a life.

He swallowed the knot formed in his throat and noticed the taste of blood lingering on his tongue. The coppery tones just made him scowl further. "Nerd… you better fucking pull through!" he growled to the door as if the occupants could hear him.

* * *

The day hadn't been anything special. He'd woken up, did his morning training, made himself a nutritious breakfast while most of the other sidekicks ate whatever crap they usually had in the morning, and gone to school. After a long day of training later and much to his chagrin, he'd left U.A. with Deku in tow… or next to him now since he no longer followed Katsuki everywhere like the stalker he was. They'd been called down to the precinct for some shit Katsuki could've figured out if he cared to, but he didn't bother. Whatever Detective Lie Detector wanted to know he'd be able to answer, no problem except for the inconvenience of a bus ride with the nerd.

They'd arrived to be greeted by two extras Katsuki hadn't seen in a year. Long Fingers and Plain Face yapped happily at seeing them, something about how impressed they were with their class at U.A. and how they'd see them on TV every now and again. They stopped quickly after Katsuki growled at them to shut the fuck up though they didn't seem all that repentant about their previous yammering.

An eternity later, that was likely only 10 minutes of listening to Deku and the extras go on about their respective hero courses, Katsuki was given salvation in the form of that Tsucatchi guy. Behind him, some decrepit old baldy with a moustache and round glasses was following. He seemed rather sketchy but Deku apparently recognized him. Called him some flighty name*, with sensei added for good measure. Leave it to the nerd to know all the elderly in town.

Either way, Katsuki hadn't been interested in the least until they finally explained why he had to spend his evening with the police. It had to do with the Nomu, those brainless things the League of Dipshits were always using to wreak havoc. Apparently, they had discovered the identity of one of them and wanted to know more about the people who had been in his past life.

Katsuki was sure the bitter expression he wore couldn't come close to the abjectly horrified ones Deku and the others had on their faces after the truth was dropped on them.

* * *

The medic from the ambulance had managed to convince Katsuki to take a seat in the waiting room. A cooling patch on his shoulder and a few tests to ensure his brain wasn't rattled later, and he was left to his own scowling devices, staring at the ticking clock in the corner of the room. He was pretty sure the woman at the reception desk had been instructed to keep an eye on him since she kept glancing over at him every few minutes.

The door into the area opened and a familiar face walked in, glancing around quickly before spotting him and heading over. "Bakugo-kun, I'm glad to see you're safe!" That detective from earlier rushed up to him, probably having been directed here the moment he'd arrived at the hospital. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything earli–"

"It's too late for any of that shit anyways. You're here to find out what happened, right?" Katsuki snapped. He wasn't particularly angry at this guy, just angry he couldn't do anything more to save that stupid little nerd right now.

Detective Tsucoochee still seemed apologetic but quickly shifted gears knowing that every minute could be vital in tracking down the perpetrator. "Should we head to a private room to talk? I'd like to take your statement for now."

Katsuki sighed and glanced at the surgery doors which remained tauntingly shut.

"Midoriya-kun is a determined young man. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

Katsuki glared up at the man, perturbed at the idea that _he_ was so easily readable and that his worry about someone like Shitty Deku was telegraphed so obviously. He gritted his teeth and stood. "Lead the way," he barked gruffly. Glancing back at the doors to surgery once more, he knew there was nothing else he could do here. He still wanted to stay, but the police needed his info and Deku would be in just as much peril if he were here or not.

* * *

The four kids were lead to a conference room with a large table and enough chairs for all of them including the old man and the detective.

"I didn't even know Tsubasa-kun had passed away. I just thought he went to a different middle school than us." Deku seemed really upset considering Wings bullied him just as much as these other extras and Katsuki himself.

"I thought he wanted a fresh start when he started at a new school," Fingers muttered, looking down at his hands. "He stopped responding to my texts so I… I didn't want to be annoying and keep at it until he responded."

Katsuki scowled further. He'd known Wings just as long as he'd known the rest of these losers. He hadn't bothered trying to keep in touch since he always had annoying extras gripping to his heels. He had also gotten the impression somewhere along the way that Wings had gone to a different school and stopped hanging with them as a result. Why Katsuki thought that, he couldn't remember clearly.

"Well, we didn't just ask you here for what you remember _after _his death, but before it," Detective Truth stated. "Do you remember seeing anyone suspicious around Tsubasa-kun before graduation?"

"No…"

"Not particularly."

"Sorry."

The others were all shaking their heads. Katsuki just frowned and furrowed his brow. He couldn't really remember anything clearly about the pudgy boy. He had been too self-absorbed at the time to focus on his friends' lives.

"Do…" Deku started in a small voice, "Do you think he grabbed me because he recognized me? … That night with Stain…"

Detective Conan considered his answer before he spoke. "While we haven't been able to determine any brain activity in the Lower End Nomu, it seems possible he recognized you. From what I understand of that night, he grabbed you out of a group of heroes. But, I don't think you should get hung up on it."

Katsuki could remember the image from the internet – Deku held on the ground by the Hero Killer, Nomu – Tsubasa-kun – dead on the ground next to him. Katsuki couldn't help but grind his teeth. Whatever this feeling was, it made him want to punch something.

"How about anyone particularly interested in quirks in his life beforehand?" Sherlock continued prompting.

"Um… excuse me," Deku started, still seeming unsure from his previous thoughts, "but if his body was taken after death like you said, why _are_ you looking for someone from before he died? You… don't think they did anything to him… do you?"

"That's not it," the gumshoe replied. "At this point, we don't suspect anything malicious about his death but a question remains – how did a young elementary student catch the attention of the League of Villains. So, how about it? Know of anyone who was particularly interested in quirks?"

Once again, Katsuki drew a blank and opened his mouth to tell the dick to do his own damn detecting rather than rely on some high school brats, but Deku beat him to the punch.

"If it's someone who was interested in quirks, wouldn't Tsubasa-sensei be the likeliest to know them?" the nerd asked, looking up at the old man.

Detective Do-Good spoke once more. "What–"

The door to the room opened with a creak and a cat head popped in. "Sir, you're needed in the other interview room."

A loud sigh came from the detective before he got up. Katsuki could relate. He, too, was tired of this business. Who wanted to hear about someone they knew getting turned into a brainless puppet?

"I'll be back in a moment. Just try to think on anything you might have seen in the weeks prior to his death." Katsuki scowled but tried to think back anyway. At least, he started to but _some_ people were more concerned with discussions than actual thinking.

"Why'd you think his gramps would know anything?" Fingers asked, looking at Shitty Deku inquisitively. Katsuki glanced at the old guy to see if he'd have any input but the creeper was busy answering a phone call.

"Well, it's just, he knows quite a bit about quirks so I thought he might be able to think of someone in his contacts," the wimp tried to reason.

Plain Face snorted with laughter. "What is that? The guy's a general practitioner. He only knows the bare minimum when it comes to quirks! Anything more and you'd have to go see a Quirkologist. Though you never really hung out at Tsubasa-kun's place, so I guess you didn't really know. Can't blame you then."

"That's not it though!" Deku tried to defend. "He definitely knew a lot when I was diagnosed as Quirkleeeuuuugh..!" The nerd started choking on black goo coming from his mouth. In an instant, Katsuki went on alert. He'd never forget that stuff or its smell. Unfortunately, he also hadn't figured out a counter to it yet and soon enough he was gagging on the vile substance himself, the coughs of the others in the room echoing off the walls as they all fought to breathe through the garbage slime. Katsuki felt his body get exceedingly light before the weight returned and he balanced himself on his feet. The others were less graceful. Deku barely managed to keep standing while the extras and the doctor ended up on their asses. Katsuki quickly assessed the new location. Unlike the precinct which was well lit, this place only had minimum lighting – a strange ethereal glow, mostly coming from large pods lined in rows and a wall of monitors showing what looked to be various experiments. The place was cavernous but industrial with pipes leading every which way. At least they'd be able to see an attack before it reached them.

Deku was also looking around, fists up and knees bent, his own strange glow from his quirk lighting him. Good. At least he was on the same page as Katsuki. "You three, get up! We need to get outta here!" Katsuki shouted at the others who seemed more confused than concerned.

"KYAAAAAAEEEEEEEEH!"

The screech was ear-piercing, even for someone who was used to explosions blasting his eardrums daily. Katsuki turned and grimaced. This was possibly one of the shittiest scenarios he could think of.

* * *

"What happened after that? I only know vaguely about the Nomu attack."

"It was ready to attack us when we got there. Like some sort of guard for the place, it was meant to attack any intruders," Katsuki replied. "We were brought there to kill any chance of the asshole who did this being found out."

"But the Nomu attacked all five of you?" questioned the detective.

Katsuki shook his head in response. "Not quite. It focused on going after the people fighting it first."

"So you and Midoriya-kun."

"Yeah… Deku and I."

* * *

"Get behind something, stay hidden and call for help!" Deku ordered the others.

The extras who'd known him since they were practically toddlers seemed shocked at Deku's tone. Katsuki could fix that. "What, you go stupid or something? Take the old geezer and hide you idiots. Or is your hero training just for show?" Sure, they weren't U.A. students or provisionally licenced yet, but they _had_ been working towards becoming heroes too. Now they needed that training more than ever.

On the other end of the room, a Nomu was staring at them, poised and ready to attack. It was large, at least two and a half meters tall though it was hunched over on its arms. It had bony, long arms and legs with a sickly teal tone and Katsuki was pretty sure it could easily eviscerate them with its claws. Four eyes stared at them vacantly before it opened its mouth again and let loose another screech. It recoiled slightly, then launched.

Katsuki blasted straight upwards, getting out of the way of its long reach. Its eyes followed Katsuki's path which left an opening for Deku to hit it with Air Force.

Too weak. It didn't even budge backwards.

Its attention turned to Deku and it launched forward again. This time, Katsuki was able to notice the spring-like action in its legs. It could recoil and stretch its arms and legs it seemed.

Deku dodged to his right, narrowly avoiding the Nomu's reach.

"Spring-like limbs!" Katsuki shouted.

"Got it!" Deku replied. He kicked off the floor and took to the walls and ceiling. This way, they could battle in the air whereas this creature seemed limited to the ground

Katsuki blasted his way towards it, dodged a reflexive swipe of its arm and got around in front, blasting it with a heavy explosion in its chest. This time, it recoiled. Before it had a chance to counter, Deku sped from the ceiling straight down into its back and slammed it into the floor.

"I can't get a signal here!" Plain Face called to them urgently, waving his phone. Shit! That just made everything more complicated. Were they somewhere a signal wouldn't reach or was some of this equipment designed to block them?

Suddenly, the world took on a nauseating double vision.

Katsuki reacted to an arm swinging at him but felt claws tear through his shirt. A grunt to his right told him Deku wasn't as lucky. Katsuki tried to put some distance between them, using a blast to create a smokescreen and block the creature's view. If Katsuki couldn't see straight, he sure as hell wasn't gonna let the Nomu have the upper hand. As if passing through an invisible filter, Katsuki's vision righted itself

"Either his Double Vision quirk has a radius or he can't use it on those he can't see."

Deku was right alongside him and busy giving an analysis of this second quirk. Katsuki noticed the blood staining the nerd's blazer where it was ripped on the side of his stomach.

Seeing him looking, Deku quickly explained, "It's better than it looks. Just a graze, really!"

"Tch! Just don't go fainting on me nerd! If you become excess baggage in this fight I'm gonna tell All Might how useless you are!"

Deku had the nerve to look betrayed. "You wouldn't!" he gasped.

"Shut up! It's coming!" Katsuki growled back, exploding higher into the air to keep away from the leaping Nomu, Deku following suit. The moment it turned to face them again, Katsuki was back to seeing double.

"So, definitely by sight, it seems. We can't just keep dodging though," Deku said as he unsteadily landed on top of some of the equipment. Katsuki had done his best so far to ignore the obvious signs of Nomu contained in each capsule. Deku continued, "It doesn't seem like it's one of those smarter ones. Maybe it's here just to guard this place? It seems to be avoiding causing damage to the equipment."

Clever. That's why Deku had taken to resting on top of these things. Well, not like they want to risk waking any of these Nomu up either. Just one was enough, thanks.

Katsuki shot forward again, using Stun Grenade to cut off the Nomu's field of vision. Deku took the opportunity to come in and hit him with an extra charged kick straight in the eyes, knocking the Nomu back and causing enough damage to effectively blind him on one side of his face. Now temporarily free of Double Vision again, Katsuki wound up and charged with a Howitzer Impact, aiming a full blast right in the centre of its chest. It flew back into the wall.

"That should keep it down for at least a minute. Let's get out of here while there's nothing else more annoying to deal with." Katsuki turned back to the others knowing it was more important to get them out of here fast than to get a decisive victory and started to look at which exit was more likely to lead outside.

"_KACCHAN!"_

Deku's scream was enough for him to go back on alert. He turned and was faced with the teal face and exposed brain of the Nomu, his clawed hand winding up to gut him.

_Shit! Regeneration! He miscalculated!_

Katsuki brought his arm in front of him as quickly as possible. He needed to blast backwards as fast as he could. Deep down however, he knew he wasn't going to make it. His teeth clenched, ready for the pain.

His hand exploded and he flew backwards, out of range. It took a moment for him to understand why he'd been able to dodge the attack.

Nomu was on its knees, its arms, legs, neck and even eyes were tethered with black rope – no that's not right. It was the shitty nerd's Black Whip he'd unlocked from One For All. Katsuki followed the lines of black back and sure enough found Deku gritting his teeth and struggling to hold on. He glanced at Katsuki and Katsuki felt like he could hear his voice.

"I'll hold him so find a way to knock him out."

Katsuki grinned heavily. There's only one way he would have the firepower to knock this thing unconscious without blowing up everything around him.

He boosted himself forward again, landing on the Nomu's shoulders and grabbed his head. "Time to take a nap, fucker!" he yelled. And with that, his hands came alive with heat, light, and concussive force. He kept firing over and over, aware of the limited time a weakling like Deku could keep it up. Pain shooting up his arms didn't stop him from continuous firing. Just as All Might had overwhelmed the Nomu at USJ, Katsuki was gonna bring this asshole down too. This was his chance to end it and he was damn sure he was gonna make himself the winner.

He felt the instant the Nomu stopped struggling and went slack. Katsuki jumped off it just as Deku's quirk retreated and the Nomu collapsed. They had a good moment before it would be able to regenerate enough to get up again and start fighting some more.

"Hey losers, crawl out of hiding and let's go!" After giving his order, Katsuki ran over to Deku. He may have been useful, but he was still a Deku. Sure enough, he was collapsed on the floor, struggling to move after using that quirk of his for an extended time. Gripping under his arm to help pull him up, Katsuki couldn't help but smirk mischievously. "One attack and you look like shit, oh Chosen One."

"You're welcome, by the way," Deku slyly smiled back, struggling to stand but still a cheeky brat like he'd been lately. He held his stomach, putting pressure on the wound on his side and failing to hide the blood now seeping onto his hand. Katsuki tsked in response as he hoisted his arm up further onto his shoulder.

"U-um, g-guys…" a small whimper made its way across the room and Katsuki's eyes widened the moment he saw it. The doctor bastard was holding a gun aimed at them, putting distance between himself and the other two students. Plain Face and Fingers seemed frozen in place, but the asshole baldy had his attention mostly trained on Katsuki and the practically dead weight leaning on his shoulder.

"So, you're the asshat who brought us here," Katsuki stated plainly. It hadn't left his mind how they'd been transported out of nowhere from the police headquarters using the same method All For One had used on him before.

"Not me, per se, but John-chan dutifully follows his orders," the moustached prick had the nerve to smile, leaning down and picking up with his free hand a Nomu _creature_ that looked like it had just crawled out of some hole.

_That was a person once._

Katsuki scowled darkly, done with being in any way pleasant to this fucker. After all, it seems they'd found their culprit who did that to Wings… "So, you were on the phone to initiate our teleportation?" Katsuki slowly inched towards the wall. He needed to get Deku out of the range of fire. "But why reveal yourself in the first place? The cops weren't even concerned with you."

"Because," Deku gasped out through clenched teeth, "I was going to turn their attention on him." His breathing was shallow but the expression of anger on his face showed he'd have his fists raised if he could. "He's the one who diagnosed me as Quirkless. He didn't just know basic information on quirks, but historical diagnosis standards as well. He was as good as any Quirkologist, which is why I thought he had acquaintances who were well-versed in the subject."

"But… he got it wrong, didn't he? Sure, you were a late-bloomer, but you still have a quirk." Katsuki stared unimpressively at Fingers. It's not like their former classmates could've known about One For All, but now was definitely _not_ the time.

"How interesting! You say I diagnosed you as Quirkless and yet look at what you did to poor Shikaku-chan**!" The old man's eyes shone in shrewd regard. "I was simply going to have my guard dog kill you and play the victim with one of these other brats, but now I find myself in a conundrum. You see, I believe your quirk is _very_ valuable but if I don't do something you'll escape here and everything I've built up will be taken away from me! I simply can't have that," he simpered. "How unfortunate for you."

The alarms in Katsuki's head blared at full power. He had to get Deku out of the way then dodge a literal bullet and charge this bastard. The gun was already raising and for the second time today, Katsuki knew it was already too late. Deku could still barely hold himself up, let alone jump to get out of the way. Katsuki turned his head to look for some other option only to catch sight of a determined smile on Deku's face.

To Katsuki, it looked like he'd already given up.

Dread filled him as Deku managed to swing his body between the gun and Katsuki, blocking him from danger. In a moment that seemed to take all of his strength, Deku raised his bloody hand and shoved his fingers into Katsuki's mouth. Katsuki gagged on the sudden intrusion but it was gone a moment later as the gun went off.

Deku's eyes widened for a moment before he collapsed and his body hit the floor.

There was a gurgling noise from the Nomu in the doctor's hand. The Nomu in tanks were enveloped in that black goo and whisked away. "Without him, you won't be a problem," the asshole stated to Katsuki. "Shikaku-chan, time to clean up here. Make sure you kill them and destroy the place. I don't need anyone finding my research notes~"

Katsuki rolled to the side in time to avoid the Nomu's attack. The damn thing was up again and this time he'd have to fight it alone. But Katsuki was distracted. The moustache bastard used his grandson's body. He might even know about One For All. If he thought Deku could still be useful to him and that thing transported Deku away too, there'd be no chance in hell of saving him and there was no way that was happening!

He just needed time to think.

His hands lit up with explosions as he made his way across the room at the doctor. He had to keep the gun and the Nomu 'Shikaku' in mind while trying to find a way to corner this guy and stop the black goo from spiriting Deku away.

_Just think!_

At the hideout bar, he and the league were taken. In the interview room, the old guy was talking on his phone. He'd had the phone facing him rather than up to his ear. There had been ongoing communication with All For One from inside the bar. Surveillance monitors buzzed along one side of the room they were currently in. _He'd had the phone facing him rather than up to his ear_.

It was the only lead he had. For the second time, Katsuki used Stun Grenade, this time aimed at the little Nomu. The trail of smoke behind him would protect him from Shikaku's sight. With no apparent eyelids, this would protect Deku from 'John's' attacks.

"I won't let you escape!" Katsuki declared, aiming a blast at the man. Unable to move quickly enough, the doctor was hit backwards. The gun spun away to the side. "It needs to see what its teleporting, doesn't it?" Katsuki demanded. He took some pleasure in seeing the calm assuredness of success wiped from the bastard's face.

A heavy headbutt hit Katsuki in the shoulder and flung him several feet. Shikaku had used all of its limbs to spring at him with as much force as possible. Guess it didn't like Katsuki hurting its master.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Katsuki stated, standing up and forcing a grinning. He wiped at his chin, keeping all of his opponents in sight. Throwing his hands out in front of him, he used Stun Grenade a third time but Shikaku just charged him regardless of the blinding light. He couldn't fully dodge and two of its claws cut across his arm. It instantly recoiled its other arm and extended, shoving Katsuki against the wall behind him. Katsuki had managed to keep the claws from sinking into his chest, but the blow to the back of his head hurt like a motherfucker.

The tapping of shoes on the floor indicated the doctor was on the move.

"Wait, Shikaku-chan," he instructed. Eyeing Katsuki, he continued, "Like I said, you're not a problem without your friend." That irritating smirk was back on the doctor's face. He was walking over toward where the gun had landed. "But perhaps you can be useful in another way. Shigaraki-kun thought you were a valuable piece after all. Maybe I'll bring him a present."

Katsuki scowled. The strength on this thing was too much to get loose now that he'd been pinned. To make matters worse, he was hit with Double Vision again, making his already swimming head ache further, nauseating him.

"Where is it?!" he heard spoken sharply from his left. Katsuki tried to focus as much as he could which just nauseated him further, but he was able to make out what had happened. The gun was missing. Katsuki spun his head to look through his dancing vision for the cover his friends had been near, then towards Deku. Both were gone.

Katsuki grinned viciously. Guess they weren't in the hero course for nothing. With any luck, they'd find a way to contact the police.

"Lose something?" he taunted.

The mad scientist scowled then shouted at Katsuki's opponent, "Finish him off then destroy everything!" Unable to stop him, the geezer twisted a knob on 'John's' head and they both disappeared in a circle of goop that swallowed them.

Meanwhile, the Nomu holding him pressed its claws forward again, trying to impale Katsuki. "Shit!" he barked. Pulling his legs up, he wrapped them around the Nomu's arm, getting a solid grip with his thighs, then turned his palms to the surface behind him and exploded the wall. With a crevice now behind him, he swung his body down and out of the skewer zone.

Shikaku lurched forward and dug its razor-sharp claws into the wall. At once, it also brought its knee up straight at Katsuki's face. He twisted to the side but was caught in his cheek thanks to his double vision.

If this went on, it felt like he'd be cross-eyed for life.

He reached out and luckily managed to grab the ankle of the Nomu as its leg continued its forward momentum and in a moment, Katsuki summoned all of his power and blasted the creature's foot away.

He jumped up, moving away from the wall and trying to create space between him and the Nomu. He had the advantage of having a quirk that could create a smokescreen.

As his vision came back in focus, Katsuki was able to think with better clarity. There were no other security measures or the old fart would've expected them to take care of the others on their way out. He also left in a hurry after realizing they were gone which meant it wouldn't be long before they'd find a way to call for help. Now, Katsuki just had to worry about surviving and saving any evidence he could.

Unfortunately, Shikaku no longer seemed concerned with maintaining the integrity of the building. It smashed the wall it had gotten stuck in and sent a boulder flying at Katsuki. Katsuki tried to blast it back but some of the rock wasn't stopped by the force and it broke off and continued at a skewed trajectory into one of the now-empty tanks. The next two pieces of wall were dodged instead but they went flying into two other containers. If he didn't do anything soon, the Nomu wouldn't just destroy all the equipment, but destabilize the building's foundation.

Katsuki went in for another Howitzer, burying the Nomu back into the wall. It was still off-balance thanks to its damaged foot but the bone and flesh were healing fast. Once again, Katsuki pulled out all his power, the ignition of his nitroglycerin crackling its way down his arms and blasting out both of his palms directly into the Nomu's back.

It was strange though. He felt like there was another presence, just below the surface of his skin, crackling with its own power.

"KYAAAAAAEEEEEEEEH!" That awful screech resounded around him again and like a bullet, Shikaku jumped off the wall directly into Katsuki. As he was shoved backwards, Katsuki planted his feet on the ground, felt that odd thrum race through his legs and jumped, easily clearing 8 meters up and out of the Nomu's range.

That was new.

He landed and raced forward again, not wanting to give the Nomu a chance to fully heal from the previous damage Katsuki'd inflicted. This thing was durable and had at least one annoying quirk, but it wasn't a bad matchup for Katsuki's all-purpose quirk and mobile fighting style. He was moving faster now, more swiftly, and hitting harder. Before, where Deku was good for follow-up attacks, Katsuki now made up the difference. Where the Nomu went for a punch, Katsuki was able to easily dodge. Where it went for a kick, he was able to counter. Where it went for a pounce, Katsuki got behind it and used its momentum against it. As he told his body to move, it complied and then some.

Unfortunately, a feeling in the pit of his stomach told him he knew what was happening, and he didn't like it one bit.

Katsuki had never asked how One For All was transferred and as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter. One For All was bestowed on Deku and Katsuki would prove himself better than Deku _and_ All Might by being the best as he was naturally born.

Now, with the ease of movement and strength coursing through Katsuki, he was sure Deku had done something very stupid. Katsuki had always been very adept at controlling his body. He intuitively picked up physical nuances that let him dribble a ball or skip rocks or cut vegetables. It just naturally came to him.

So it shouldn't surprise him that adapting to a new quirk would come naturally too.

Deku, on the other hand, seemed to struggle at everything he did. In the beginning, he'd blow up his own arms with his power. Something like power output was learned slowly and painfully.

And so, Katsuki readily used the power flowing through his veins to keep the Nomu at bay as best as he could. By the time backup arrived, the Nomu had been lodged into the floor, its Regeneration working hard to fix its broken bones. The police took over, binding the Nomu while one other escorted Katsuki out of the building. Once outside, he spotted the other two hero hopefuls and rushed over to them. They were standing next to an ambulance as it took off, lights flashing.

"Katsuki…" Fingers started apologetically, but froze, unable to say anything more.

Plain Face stepped up in his place. "Sorry we left you back there. We weren't any help in the fight. All we thought we could do was find a way out and call the cops."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Katsuki growled at him. "If you hadn't grabbed Deku and Fingers hadn't nicked the gun, we'd both be dead. … You did plenty," he added.

Plain Face looked dumbstruck and shared a glance with Fingers that clearly asked, 'Was that a compliment?' They both looked back at Katsuki, unable to mutter a single sound.

Instead, the moment was interrupted by shouting coming from the building behind them. Several officers ran out before a tremor shook the earth beneath Katsuki's feet and a loud crack resonated. In seconds, the building began to implode.

"The hell?"

Katsuki's arms fell to his sides, eyes wide but unseeing. What had been a lukewarm victory turned into a sour draw. And that wasn't even taking Izuku's condition into consideration.

* * *

"Yeah, the Nomu blew itself up when it was restrained. Apparently, it was some sort of failsafe," Detective Tsuki explained.

Katsuki scowled darkly. He should've known something like that would happen. The doctor had ordered it to destroy _all_ the evidence.

"It wasn't your fault," the man told him, watching him too closely for Katsuki's liking. "You did well surviving and creating an opportunity for the others to escape. You couldn't have known the Nomu was capable of self-destructing."

Katsuki scoffed. The signs were there, he just didn't read them right.

The doorknob rattled and a familiar face popped in.

"All Might!" Katsuki gasped, immediately setting aside the previous subject. There was something far more important he needed to address.

All Might seemed to sigh in relief at seeing him, a calming smile stretching across his face. "Bakugo-shounen, I'm glad to see you're okay."

"There's something we need to talk about." Katsuki didn't feel like drawing anything out. All Might waited, expecting Katsuki to continue, but he just glanced towards the other man in the room. "It's private…"

Katsuki watched as All Might and Tsucowchi shared a look and All Might nodded. The detective took the hint and left.

All Might waited for the door to shut before he took a seat and settled himself. He sighed. "I presume this has something to do with Midoriya-shounen?"

"That's right. How is One For All transferred?"

All Might's eyes widened. This wasn't a question he'd expected. "I believe it may be a little early to think Midoriya-shounen won't make it out of this–"

"That's not what I mean," Katsuki swallowed, still remembering the taste of Izuku's blood. "The reason I was able to hold that Nomu at bay was…" he looked at his palm, trying to find the best way to say this. Directly had always worked for him. "I'm pretty damn sure Deku gave me his quirk."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Are you gonna say anything, old man?!" Katsuki shouted.

That seemed to snap All Might back into his body. He shook his head to center himself. "That…" The weight of its meaning seemed to bear down on his shoulders. He spoke again, more quietly, "You boys went through something so terrifying…"

Katsuki looked away jutting out his bottom lip. "Was nothin'. Stupid Deku just jumped the gun…" He paused for a moment, realizing his poor choice of words and restated, "If that guy hadn't been playing fool the whole time, it was Deku and my win. Anyway, I think I got the right to know how exactly he transferred the quirk. Does it have to do with blood?"

"Blood? Oh, not quite. One For All is transferred by the will of the user when someone ingests his DNA."

All Might looked like he wanted to say more so Katsuki just waited, quietly giving him space to form his thoughts. Finally, "Bakugo-shounen, I think there will be a lot for you to consider depending on the outcome of tonight."

Katsuki looked down and spat, "Not really. Shitty nerd just better pull through, s'all."

* * *

They rejoined the copper who was now waiting outside surgery with two other familiar faces. Fingers and Plain Face were waiting patiently for news on Deku's condition.

"No news yet?" All Might asked, receiving a shake of the head from his detective friend. But no sooner had Katsuki slumped down into a chair than the door opened and a doctor sidled out, spotting them and heading over. _Thank fuck!_ Katsuki couldn't handle any more of this standby crap.

"You're all here for Midoriya-kun, correct?" At the nods he received, the surgeon continued. "Let's not beat around the bush, shall we? I'm happy to announce the surgery was a success. He'd lost a lot of blood and he had some internal bleeding. The damage the attack had done to his midsection has been patched up and Recovery Girl is already working on getting him most of the way through the physical recovery. That's about all I can divulge to everyone, but just know there's no need to worry." The surgeon then looked to both adults standing there. "Are either of you his guardian? I need to go over recovery and rehabilitation."

All Might stepped forward, "For now, I'm acting as his guardian on behalf of U.A."

The surgeon smiled, "Of course, All Might." Katsuki saw that twinkle in his eye similar to Deku's. Of course this guy was a fanboy too. If Deku'd been awake, they'd probably be comparing notes by now and flexing their trivia knowledge. Damn nerds.

But something didn't sit well with Katsuki. The doctor had only spoken about the wound to Deku's side from when Double Vision had first hit them. Like hell Katsuki was gonna let this guy go without telling him about the _real_ issue. "What about the bullet? He was shot in the back, wasn't he?"

The doctor froze and looked at him, the others turning to do the same. Had they all just forgotten? They looked like they'd never even considered it. Katsuki grinded his teeth feeling annoyed.

"I'm sorry," the surgeon began, "I thought you knew. He was hit with a special bullet containing a paralytic agent. The effect should have worn off by now. I'm sure the impact wasn't pleasant, but the muscle will recover completely."

Katsuki stared blankly.

"Wait…" Plain Face began. "You thought he'd been shot this whole time?" The smile on his face cracked Katsuki's patience.

"You were actually _suuuper_ worried about him, weren't you?!" Fingers added, unable to keep the sound of snickering out of his voice.

"It's true, they worked together flawlessly," Plain Face continued. "I was really impressed. I thought I was in some alternate reality for a while there!"

"Never thought I'd see the day when Katsuki'd form a dynamic duo with Midoriya!" Fingers finished, this time barking a laugh.

"I'll kill you!" Katsuki roared, his patience in tatters on the floor. The two seemed unbothered by the threat as they continued to laugh loudly. All Might smiled before following the doctor somewhere more private.

* * *

Izuku awoke to an unfamiliar room. As the gears in his mind slowly started to turn, he got enough presence to take in his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was Kacchan and him fighting a Nomu. If he was caught–

No, that's not quite right. He was shot. But instead of pain, he remembers his muscles locking. He couldn't even speak. He'd fallen heavily to the floor. Somehow, his childhood friends had reached him and carried him out of there, calling 119*** when they could. They appropriately put pressure to his midsection wound.

After that, everything was hazy. Izuku thinks he can remember a room with bright lights. At some point, he was pretty sure All Might had come to his bedside, but that might have been a wish more than anything. His mom might have been there too. Or was it Recovery Girl? He couldn't be sure.

As these thoughts circled his head, the door to the room banged open like an explosion had gone off. When he locked eyes with it, Izuku realized that was pretty close to the truth. Kacchan was always like a walking explosion.

Kacchan stared at him, suddenly taken aback, probably by the fact that he was being accosted by accusing eyes for slamming open doors in a _hospital_.

"Nerd, you're finally awake," he said to deflect attention from his previous actions.

Izuku smiled back. "Yeah, guess I am."

Kacchan seemed a little lost for words. "All Might and your mom are eating breakfast in the cafeteria. Everyone else has gone home or to work," he finally said.

Izuku smiled wider. He wasn't sure who 'everyone' included, but it was nice to know people had come by to see him since they were worried. And his mom and All Might would be back after eating, that thought alone gave him extra strength.

"Don't bother trying to move too much. The old lady said it'd take a few more hours for you to build enough stamina again. You were pretty roughed up."

"If it's breakfast time, have you been here all night?" Kacchan's eyes widened comically, like he'd been called out.

"You sure know how to piss me off first thing in the morning. I was answering that damn detective's questions through the night!" For some reason, that seemed only half true.

Izuku looked to the side of the bed, spotting the same kind of feature he'd had in a previous hospital visit. Sure enough, when he pressed the button, the bed raised him up into a partial sitting position.

"You're still in recovery and no one else is here to see you yet, idiot. You should take it easy until they come by," Kacchan chided.

"But you're here to see me!" Izuku stated proudly. Kacchan seemed torn between chewing him out some more and simply accepting the statement for what it was.

Instead, Kacchan chose to head into the room's bathroom. "You're only allowed to have water for the next couple hours until your doctor comes by again," he yelled from the other room, the water turning on to full and off again within seconds. A few moments later, Kacchan re-emerged with a paper cup. He shoved it into Izuku's hand and watched him expectantly. Izuku obeyed and drank the full cup. He hadn't realized how dry his mouth was until the moisture hit his tongue. It was unusual for Kacchan to be so attentive as to notice something like that.

"You're really stupid Deku, you know that? A real moron. A complete dunce."

"Hey! What happened to being nice to the injured person?" Izuku protested. He should've known Kacchan's nice side would only last so long.

"You're injured _because_ you're a dunce," Kacchan replied. "You made your mom worry about you. All Might too. You'll never be better than me but, at the rate you're going, you're not even gonna be 2nd place."

Izuku understood. This was Kacchan trying to egg him on in their rivalry. But…

"I really screwed up this time. I should've realized Tsubasa-sensei was suspicious. Who else would've been able to target the five of us from inside that interview room?" Izuku looked up at Kacchan again. "You had to fight on your own after that…"

"Don't make it sound like it was a problem. Of course I could do it! Don't you dare look down on me!"

"Of course not!" Izuku squeaked. "Just… I really have been a useless successor. I… I don't know if you noticed…" Izuku paused. Why was it such a difficult subject to bring up?

"That in your _infinite_ wisdom you saw fit to shove your crummy ass quirk on me?" Kacchan spat. "Oh, I noticed. Another reason you're a complete _idiot_. You act like you're the only one who failed to see the signs, but I also didn't realize it was that bastard's fault until he pulled a gun. And worse, I'm the idiot who let him get away _and_ let the Nomu destroy the place. So don't you _dare_ keep throwing yourself this stupid little pity party while I'm standing _right here_, goddamn it! If you're a _useless successor_, get better! You don't have a choice, so if you ever want to rant about it, _fine_, but you better put your all into it!"

Izuku blinked. It had been a while since Kacchan had gone off at him. "…Thanks Kacchan, but it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" He looked up at him. "I'm no longer the successor. You are." Izuku smiled sadly, but in his current state he didn't regret what he did. Maybe he was just too tired to think, or maybe he had made the right choice. He couldn't decide.

"You better not think you can take the easy way out and lay back and relax now, you fucking hero nerd. There's only one person All Might chose to give his quirk to. Besides," the grin that spread across Kacchan's face was almost feral and vindictive, "you don't get a say in it."

Izuku shuddered at the expression Kacchan was wearing. "W-what do you mean..?"

His eyes glistened with mirth. "I already gave it back."

Izuku followed the point of Kacchan's finger to the empty cup in his own hand. He paled.

"_What did you do to my water?!_" Kacchan busied himself with his phone instead of replying."Kacchan! Did you _spit in it?_ _KACCHAN!_" Izuku whined.

Kacchan continued to ignore him.

"Looks like they're almost done eating," he said, responding to a text on his phone. "I'm gonna go get All Might and your mom so make yourself look a little less pathetic by the time I get back." With that, Kacchan turned and started to head out of the room, but paused mid-step. "Oh, and nerd, don't you dare lose your quirk ever again or I'll beat your ass senseless, got it?" Without waiting for a response, he loudly slammed the door behind him and most likely disturbed nearby patients _again_.

Izuku couldn't help but smile. Kacchan's rough and as subtle as a bomb, but Izuku knew he did his best to cheer him up. After all, what are friends for?

* * *

**-(X)-**

**End Notes:**

* Flighty Name: The name Tsubasa means Wing. Katsuki just can't be bothered with remembering more than the name's meaning.  
** Shikaku-chan: The name comes from 視(shi) 覚(kaku) and means Sense of Sight or Visual Perception.  
*** Calling 119: The number for emergencies in Japan, similar to 911 in North America.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :) Let me know what you thought in the comments. I appreciate all feedback and kudos!

I was really hoping to get this posted before the movie came out, particularly because of the subject matter. I have no idea what happened in the new movie, but it feels like Horikoshi's been tackling some of the subject matter that I wrote about in this fic lately in the manga, and I wanted to get this out before the fic is made obsolete XD But holiday seasons are notorious for running around and spending time with the family instead of in front of the screen, so what can you do? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope you all have a fabulous New Year! Thanks again :3


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